The Center on Family Demography and Public Policy
The Center on Family Demography and Public Policy focuses on family and household demography as related to larger social and economic processes, with a particular emphasis on child and family policy. Under this overall heading, our research portfolio includes interdisciplinary studies organized around four themes:
- the determinants and consequences of trends in marriage, divorce, cohabitation, and childbearing;
- the determinants and consequences of changes in fatherhood, and patterns of child support and visitation by non-resident parents;
- the determinants and consequences of the use of child care;
- intergenerational transfers and relationships.
Our central objective is to advance knowledge on each of these themes by rigorously investigating population trends and processes and how they are connected to child and family policy. This includes attention both to how changing family and household demography alters the policies required to effectively meet the needs of America's children and families, as well as how public programs and policies affect family behavior and child and family wellbeing.
The Center hosts a weekly "brown bag" seminar with speakers from around the Columbia campus as well as from other universities and research centers. Seminars meet on Tuesdays from 1:00-2:15 (unless otherwise indicated), in room 1109 of the School of Social Work.
